By Tamsin Metelerkamp<\/p>\n
Representatives of various civil society organisations criticised the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection at a Lawyers for Human Rights roundtable on Monday, describing the draft policy as \u2018vague\u2019 and \u2018poorly drafted\u2019.<\/p>\n
Civil society representatives have slammed the recently published White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection as being flawed and poorly drafted. Concerns have been raised about the draft policy\u2019s alleged attempts to \u201cscapegoat\u201d the migrant community in the lead-up to South Africa\u2019s 2024 general elections.<\/p>\n
The Department of Home Affairs gazetted the white paper on 10 November, calling for a \u201ccomplete overhaul\u201d of the migration \u00adsystem in South Africa. The public has until 19 January 2024 to provide comments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile in the ordinary course of things, we would\u2026 have welcomed the good intention to administer a complete overhaul of frameworks relating to our immigration framework\u2026 we look at the white paper and we see it against the backdrop of the sociopolitical context\u2026 of the significant surge in deadly xenophobic attacks that have happened since 2008. We also see it in the context of the increasingly anti-migrant sentiment that is being purported by the ANC,\u201d said Nabeelah Mia, head of Penal Reform Programme at Lawyers for Human Rights.<\/p>\n